Grace. A Free Ticket? – Part 2

Now that you’ve gotPart 1finished, you might still be wondering if that “free ticket” to salvation is as good as you thought it was. If any doubts linger, it is highly suggested that you proceed onward with Part 2 of our investigation.

Scriptures indicate that our inheritance cannot be obtained without a sinless sacrifice. The process required that father Yahweh give Yahu Yahweh all things, even his sacred name, and then Yahu, in turn, would pass on these things as an inheritance in a conditional will.

Genesis 26:1-5, confirms that the covenant with Abraham was conditional when it reports that Yahweh told Isaak that he would fulfill the promises, “BECAUSE Abraham listened to my voice and obeyed my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws.”

Yet, even Abraham was a sinner, for all have sinned. He, like the rest of us, must come into the eternal inheritance by grace and by means of the messiah.

Torah of Moses Brings CurseFurther requirements were attached to the promises given to Abraham because of transgression (Gal. 3:18-19). These conditions were given in the form of the Torah of Moses or Old Covenant made at Mount Sinai and the “works of the Law (Torah)” which were added thereto (Rom. 9:32;Gal. 2:16,3:2,5,10), i.e., as found in the books of the Torah. The covenant at Mount Sinai and works of the Torah did two things:

• First, when Yahu Yahweh (Yahushua) entered into a marriage covenant with Israel at Mount Sinai, he narrowed the eligibility for the inheritance down to the nation and assembly of Israel, thereby building a wall between Israel and the nations (Eph. 2:11-17). This formed a major obstacle in granting the contents of the will, since Abraham was promised to be both the father of many nations and a blessing to the nations (Gen. 17:4-5,18:18;Rom. 4:16-18).

• Second, the Torah of Moses brought all the Israelites who desired to be justified by its fleshly works under a curse if they could not keep the agreement (Gal. 3:10, 13). Unfortunately, the Israelites could not live up to such high standards without trust (seeHeb. 3:14-4:9). At this point a huge problem became manifest. The conditions of the Torah of Moses were such that, “For whosoever shall keep the whole Torah, yet shall stumble in one point, he has become guilty of all (James 2:10).” If you become guilty, then you lose your rights to the inheritance, for you have not met the conditions. This being the case, there could be no “elect” from Israel that could qualify as Yahweh had promised (Gal. 3:19).

Grace Becomes NecessaryThe question is, “How then can anyone obtain the eternal inheritance, Israelite or non-Israelite, ‘For all have sinned and come short of the glory of the deity’? (Rom. 3:23)” Therefore, to bring all of the nations, including Israel, back into the eternal inheritance, grace became necessary.

Nevertheless, how can someone give grace if he does not have rights to the inheritance? The solution is revealed in the book of Isaiah.

Isaiah observed that our iniquities and sins have come between mankind and Yahweh, causing Yahweh to hide his face from us. Yahweh advises us that the source of the problem stems from the fact that we speak falsehoods and murmur perverseness, and no one seeks truth but instead trusts emptiness. Mankind runs to evil and does not know the way to peace, and there is no justice in our tracks (Isa. 59:1-8).

“Therefore, justice is far from us; and righteousness (justification) does not overtake us.” We grope for the wall like blind men and stumble at noonday as at the time of the evening breeze. Among mankind’s other crimes, our sins testify against us. “And the truth is lacking; and whoever turns from evil makes himself a prey (Isa. 59:9-15).”

There was only one way to solve this immense dilemma:

And Yahweh saw, and it was evil in his eyes that there was no justice. And he saw and there was no (just) male, and he was astonished that there was not an intercessor. But his arm saved for him, and his righteousness (justification), it sustained him. (Isaiah 59:15-16)

Preexistent Yahushua Becomes Seed of AbrahamTherefore, since no human was capable of keeping the conditions of the “covenant will” and the written Torah of Moses (the Law, Old Covenant), Yahu Yahweh, the saving arm of father Yahweh, had to come and fulfill the conditions himself, becoming the intercessor for mankind. Yahu Yahweh had to become the earthly messiah saviour Yahushua, first qualifying as an heir and second by dying to pass on the eternal inheritance (to himself).

This circumstance demanded that the messiah become the seed of Abraham and then qualify under the conditions of the will and the written Torah of Moses. As a result, Yahushua had to become a sinless sacrifice, coming “under the Torah (of Moses) (Gal. 4:4).”

That Yahushua qualified as heir is made self-evident by the fact that he never sinned (1 John 3:5;1Pet. 1:19), i.e., never transgressed the laws of the Abrahamic Covenants of Promise (Torah of Trust) or the Torah of Moses (the Law, Old Covenant); he never failed to trust in father Yahweh (1 John 3:4;Rom. 14:23).

Yet, if the eternal inheritance in the will was to be passed on and the works of the written Torah of Moses circumvented by us, Yahushua had to sacrifice himself!

In this regard, Saul (Paul) states, “For also the messiah, our Passover was sacrificed for us (1 Cor. 5:7).” The Passover lamb, which was sacrificed during the Festival of Passover, was to be “perfect (Exod. 12:5).”

Keph (Peter) refers to the messiah as “a lamb without blemish and without spot” who gave his “precious blood” for our sake (1 Pet. 1:19-20). That is, the messiah was the lamb without blemish, a perfect sacrifice because he never sinned.

Yahushua Becomes High PriestBy Yahushua’s death and resurrection into eternal life, he also became our high priest, i.e., our intercessor (Heb. 3:1-2). We read in the book of Hebrews, with regard to Yahushua’s priesthood:

Whence also he (Yahushua) is able to completely save those who approach through him to the deity, always living to intercede for them. For such a high priest he became, sacred, harmless, undefiled, separated from sinners, and becoming higher than the heavens: who has no necessity day by day, as the (earthly) high priests, first for his own sins to offer up sacrifices, then for those of the people; for this he did, having offered up himself once for all. (Hebrews 7:24-27)

The messiah was a sacrifice for “all” because all of those who are saved must come through him. He is the door by which we shall enter the eternal inheritance (John 10:7-9). As part of his body (the assembly), we are justified as joint-heirs (Rom. 8:17). Since our opportunity to receive the inheritance lies with Yahushua, and we become his body, we have died and have been resurrected with him.

All Mankind Must Die and be ResurrectedThe blood of the messiah (i.e., his death), being a spotless (sinless) offering to Yahweh, is used to purify our conscience from dead works to serving the living deity (Heb. 9:14). Nevertheless, we still die in this life, for “it is apportioned for men once to die, and after this, judgment (Heb. 9:27).”

Further, our present corruptible (decay­ing), flesh and blood bodies are not capable of inheriting (1 Cor. 15:50). We must wait until after our resurrection when we shall possess our new incorruptible bodies, in which form we can inherit (1 Cor. 15:35-58).

At the same time, the death of the person making a covenant of inheritance is required if the will is to have any force, otherwise the contents of the “covenant will” cannot be passed on. The book of Hebrews, as we have said, specifically states that it was “not by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood,” and it was “the blood of the messiah, who through the eternal ruach offered himself without spot to the deity (Heb. 9:12, 14).”

Therefore, in order to provide us grace so that we might bypass the Torah of Moses, Yahushua died for the sins of all mankind (2 Cor. 5:14-15;1 Thes. 5:10). Being righteous (justified), he died for the impious and sinners who are transgressors of the Law (Rom. 5:6, 8).

For powerless is the Torah (of Moses), in that it was weak through the flesh, Yahweh, having sent his own son in the likeness of the flesh of sin, and on account of sin, condemned sin in the flesh, that the requirement of the Torah should be fulfilled in us, who not according to flesh walk, but according to ruach. (Romans 8:3-4)

For him (Yahushua), who did not know sin, he (father Yahweh) made for us a sin offering, that we might become the justified of Yahweh in him. (2 Corinthians 5:21)

How Is Grace Manifested? The grace of Yahweh could not appear until Yahu Yahweh became a fleshly man, a descendant of Abraham who could qualify to receive the inheritance. As a mortal man he could die to pass on the inheritance and then he could be resurrected to receive the same.

Once he became eligible to receive the eternal inheritance, he also gained the authority to share that inheritance with whomever he wishes. This granting of joint-heirship is an act of grace. Therefore, grace was manifested with the appearance of the messiah, his death, and his resurrection.

John, for example, tells us, “For the Torah (Old Covenant) was given by means of Moses; but grace and truth came by means of Yahushua the messiah (John 1:17).” Keph (Peter) likewise states that grace was brought to us by the revelation of Yahushua (1 Pet. 1:13). Paul writes that the Torah came first so that “grace might reign through justification unto eternal life, through Yahushua, our sovereign (Rom. 5:21).”

Paul adds:

For we were once also without intelligence, disobedient, led astray, serving various lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful, hating one another. But when the kindness and the friend of man appeared, our saviour deity, not out of works (of the Torah of Moses) which were in righteousness which we practiced, but according to his mercy he saves us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the sacred ruach, which was poured out richly upon us BY MEANS OF YAHUSHUA THE MESSIAH, OUR SAVIOUR; THAT HAVING BEEN JUSTIFIED BY HIS GRACE, HEIRS WE SHOULD BECOME ACCORDING TO THE HOPE OF ETERNAL LIFE. (Titus 3:3-7)

Paul further states that Yahushua taught us this doctrine of grace, “For the grace of the deity which brings salvation for all men appeared, instructing us that, having denied wickedness and worldly desires, discreetly and righteously and piously we should live in the present age (Titus 2:11-12).”

Grace is ConditionalNotice that this grace of the deity is conditioned upon us denying wickedness and worldly desires, and living discreetly, righteously (as one who is justified), and piously in this world. Under this method—if we repent, trust, obey, etc.—Yahushua will forgive us our sins and forbear.

As a result, when we have obedient trust, through Yahushua the messiah, on behalf of his name (Rom. 1:1-5), and if we continue abiding by the conditions set out, we shall receive the eternal inheritance by grace.

At the same time, Yahushua merely being a man did not in and of itself bring about grace. Yahushua had to qualify for the eternal inheritance, having come “under the Torah (the Law, Old Covenant;Gal. 4:4).” Paul defines the abundance of grace as reigning through Yahushua, who “accomplished justification toward all men unto the justifi­cation of life (Rom. 5:18).”

Then the messiah had to suffer death in order to pass on the inheritance. The book of Hebrews states it was for the reason of the “putting away of sin by his sacrifice that he was manifested (Heb. 9:26),” i.e., he came to sacrifice himself for the cause of bringing grace into existence.

The book of Hebrews states:

Yahushua, on account of the suffering of death, was crowned with glory and honor; so that by the grace of the deity for every one he might taste death. For it was becoming of him, by means of whom are all things and by means of whom shall be all things, bringing many sons unto glory, the leader of their salvation by means of sufferings to make perfect. (Hebrews 2:9-10)

In turn, sins cannot be forgiven, grace cannot be dispensed, and justi­fication cannot be made unless the messiah is alive. This fact demands Yahushua’s resurrection.

Justified by Grace Through TrustPaul informs us that by trust we are reckoned to be righteous (justified), “to those that trust upon him (father Yahweh) who raised Yahushua, our sovereign, from out of the dead, who was delivered for our offenses, and was raised FOR OUR JUSTIFICATION (Rom. 4:22-25).”

In another place Paul writes that Yahushua was marked as the son of the deity, “out of the resurrection of the dead,” and “by whom we receive grace and apostleship unto obedience of trust among all the nations, in behalf of his name, among who you are also called of Yahushua the messiah (Rom. 1:4-6).”

That is, it is by the resurrected messiah that we receive grace. Paul is supported by Keph (Peter), who states that, through the great mercy of Yahweh, he has “begat us again to a living hope through the resurrection from out of the dead, to an incorruptible and undefiled and unfading inheritance (1Pet. 1:3-4).”

How Is Grace Revealed? Though grace was manifested with the fleshly life, death, and resurrection of the messiah, no one has as of yet received use of any of the eternal inheritance (Heb. 11:13,39-40;Acts 7:2-5) —i.e., no one has attained to eternal life, the eternal ownership of land, the eternal circumcision, and so forth—by means of the Abrahamic Covenants of Promise (Yahushua’s resurrection coming under a previous covenant which encompasses another discussion).

Therefore, the act of grace with regard to the eternal inheritance has not yet been granted. But this grace shall begin to be granted when the messiah returns to earth, an event referred to as the future revelation of the messiah.

Therefore the messiah must wait until the specified time commanded by father Yahweh for the inheritance to be released, at which time Yahushua can share it with whomever he wishes, the saved being those doing Yahweh’s will and meeting his conditions. Yahushua then can distribute a joint-share in the eternal inheritance by grace.

Eternal Inheritance by Grace Not Given YetThe dispensation of the eternal inheritance by grace has yet to occur. As demonstrated in the book of Isaiah, for example, Yahweh notes that the Israelites are a rebellious people:

And therefore YAHWEH WAITS TO BE GRACIOUS TO YOU (Israel). And therefore, he is high to have mercy on you, because Yahweh is an eloahi of justice. Blessed are those who wait for him. For the people in Zion shall live in Jerusalem; you surely shall not weep. SURELY HE SHALL GIVE YOU GRACE at the sound of your cry. When he hears he will answer you. (Isaiah 30:18-19)

Clearly, the fulfillment of this statement has not yet taken place, for the people of Zion, who are waiting for Yahweh, are not yet living in Jerusalem. Neither has Yahweh, as of this date, answered the cry of his people. It cannot occur until the messiah returns and lays hold of his eternal inheritance, establishing his throne on Mount Zion at Jerusalem and obtaining all of the land from the Nile to the Euphrates (Gen. 15:17-20).

Keph also points to this future grace. While writing to “the elect sojourners of the dispersion (1 Pet. 1:1),” i.e., to the dispersed Israelites, he advises them, “Wherefore having girded up the loins of your mind, being sober, have a perfectly complete hope upon the grace being brought to you at the revelation of Yahushua the messiah (1 Pet. 1:13).”

Eternal Inheritance Received When Yahushua ReturnsThis statement demonstrates that the “elect” of Israel shall be provided the eternal inheritance by grace at the second coming of the messiah. It fully complies with the statement in Galatians that the Torah (of Moses) was an augmentation to the Abrahamic Covenants of Promise (Torah of Trust), “until should have come (into existence) the sperma (group of seed, the elect) to whom the promise has been made (Gal. 3:18-19).”

These comments are a direct reference to the First Resurrection, which occurs at the second coming of the messiah (Rev. 20:4-6).

SummationBy the grace of Yahushua the messiah, who can grant us a share in the inheritance with him, we are justified to receive the promises of the eternal inheritance. Unlike the written Torah of Moses made at Mount Sinai (the Law, Old Covenant), to which the “works of the Torah” became an integral part, grace is not granted by debt (Rom. 4:4).

But neither is grace without conditions, for Yahweh will only give the gift of eternal life by grace (bestowing as a favor the eternal inheritance) to those who, like Abraham, continue in the conditions of the Abrahamic Covenants of Promise (Torah of Trust) and trust him, obey his voice, keep his charge, and keep his commandments, statutes, and laws.

So grace is conditional and equals eternal inheritance of land–specifically the Greater Land of Promise, but by extension the whole universe. Right? Which means eternal life because to possess eternally one lives eternally.

In order to receive grace by proving worthiness, one must be uncondtionally resurrected from the dead. Mankind was promised a resurrection by the making of the Adamic covenant? Even though Adam broke the covenant, Yahweh eloahi will fulfill it.

The Elect are worthy in this lifetime and receive their resurrection from Messiah under the Abrahamic Covenant. Correct?

Messiah was/is our only hope. His Father knew it and he knew it. Their love is profound.